Diablo III is a game that is more or less community driven when it comes to seeking help, guides, and friends to play with. One of, if not the most, challenging and exciting moments in Diablo is reaching level 70 and finally grinding for that build you’ve been aiming for. However, despite how important this moment is, there are no clear guidelines for new or inexperienced players who don’t know how to go forward after they’ve maxed out a character.
Granted, the steps to start gearing up your character, especially at the start of a season, are not absurdly difficult or anything. But...even for some experienced players, it is hard to gauge where you stand. I’m speaking specifically about what difficulty you should do and what to do first when gearing. This guide is meant for the players who have recently bought Diablo, players who lack experience, or players who want a refresher on vital information.
This guide will cover the following: Checking gear, finding the difficulty level that’s right for you, efficient farming processes, and reevaluation.
*This guide was made more towards players who are new or don’t have Haedrig’s Gift (Free legendaries you get per account at the beginning of a season).
As soon as you hit level 70, you will have a mixture of yellow and blues items that you acquired through leveling and maybe even some nice legendary pieces. Since you have JUST hit max level, there is a good chance that most of your gear will be under leveled or not have the best stats. In other words, you will be level 70 but some of your gear might be level 61 or 68.
Here is where your first gear inspection comes in. Quickly go through your gear and check the levels and stats for your gear. For pieces that are under leveled, you should go to the Blacksmith and craft a fresh level 70 one to replace it. Keep an eye out for double Crit rolled rings, amulets, and gloves. Despite not being legendary, these attributes on yellow gear can carry you a long way at this stage of the game. Keep in mind that some legendary gear, even if it’s under-leveled, may still be worth wearing.
Above is an example of a legendary Barbarian bracer. This item buffs your Hammer of the Ancients damage by up to 500%. Although those specific bracers could be level 40, the effect it gives will be more beneficial for you than putting on a fresh level 70 yellow bracer.
However, only a few legendaries can give you effects that justify keeping lower level items. To make things simpler, this is the best way to think of it: Is it a skill that is helping you clear while also being reliable (Low cooldown and low resource cost)? If so, keep it. If the affix is linked to a skill that has a high cooldown or high resource cost, it is best to not feel too attached to it.
For further information on what legendaries to keep and not keep, you can check out a guide to the build you are aiming for. If you have one of the pieces the build requires, you will be better off keeping it.
After you have equipped all level 70 items on your character, check your Death’s Breath and Bloodshard count. If you have 25 or more Death’s Breath, you should go ahead and upgrade a yellow level 70 item to a random legendary via Kanai’s Cube. If not, you will have to farm them slowly instead.
In regards to Bloodshards, you should go to D3 Kadala and check which pieces of gear have the lowest number of legendaries. For most classes, boots, pants, and shoulders have the least number of legendaries. In order to maximize the chance you get something good, you should check the site and THEN roll your shards.
Now that you have optimized your gear with the resources that were available to you, it is time for some rifts. Depending on how lucky you got while leveling, the difficulty at which you can clear efficiently will vary.
Above you can see the percentages for various Torment levels. The fresh level 70 gear will likely get you through Expert~Master difficulty rifts in 3-4 minutes (time varies depending on what class you play, items, and what map you get).
There are 4 key milestones that you should aim to reach while gearing up. Torment 1, Torment 7, Torment 10-11, and Torment 13. Torment 1 is the minimum requirement for set pieces to drop. Torment 7 will provide you with almost guaranteed Death’s Breath drops. Torment 10-11 will give consistent 2 Greater Rift keys and the chance for 2 Death’s Breath drops. Lastly, Torment 13 will be the most efficient as it is the highest difficulty level you can go.
When starting off at Expert to Master difficulty, do not push yourself to go higher just because you are one shotting or two shotting mobs. The rate at which you clear a rift should be considered most important. If you can clear higher difficulties but take more time doing so, it will not be as beneficial as you may think. Try timing how long you take to clear a rift difficulty. Once you get a clear within 3-4 minutes, you can raise the level by one. If it is too slow, bump it down again.
*If you’re playing Hardcore, make sure you choose a difficulty in which your health rarely drops below 70%.
Once you have gotten the basic gear and picked your difficulty level, it is time to manage rift time and Greater rift time. There is no absolute wrong or right way to do this. However, this is what worked best for me: Farm rift until you get 25 Death’s Breath. Try your luck at upgrading a yellow item. After, proceed to clear 2-3 Greater Rifts to level up gems and grab a legendary here and there. Rinse and repeat.
This part isn’t really complex. You have to keep grinding and grinding and grinding. Make sure you do a Greater Rift level equivalent to the Torment difficulty you are doing now. Below, you will be able to see the GR levels that correspond to Torment difficulties. This will guide you to what you can do and what you can’t do.
Following these steps and grinding when you can, you will get to or be close to completing a build. With set bonuses being so incredibly strong in patch 2.6.4, the set items will definitely carry you to T10+. It is beneficial for you to constantly check on your gear; see what needs improving.
Here are the two sites that are most helpful when grinding and playing Diablo. Make sure to consistently check these sites for in-game difficulty information, builds, and legendary drop rates from Kadala.
D3Kadala
D3Resource
As always, happy hunting!
